Lincoln and Darwin can be seen as symbols of the two pillars of the society we live in: one representing liberal democracy and a faith in armed republicanism and government of the people, the other the human sciences, a belief that objective knowledge about human history and the human condition, who we are and how we got here, exists. This makes them, plausibly, “heroes.” But they are also amazing men, something more than heroes, defined by their private struggles as much as by their public acts.

Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin helped shape the modern world. (Illustration by Joe Ciardiello)

Born on the same day in 1809 in very different circumstances:

Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace. This is the cabin where Abraham Lincoln may have been born. Some claim these are the original logs, taken down, refinished, and reassembled. (I highly doubt that)

The alleged (or symbolic) birthplace of Abe Lincoln now sits in a huge granite building

The Mount, where Charles Darwin was born.

I suspect that The Mount has more than one room which could accommodate the entire Lincoln cabin.

While gathering information for this post I came across an article and a short video worth checking out.

The video, about Lincoln’s early life in Kentucky, is from that state’s PBS station and is part of a much longer documentary, the parts of which can be viewed here.